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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Nov. 7, 2012
Four weeks left in the season and four teams remain in the national title race. Alabama's win confirms their superiority but there's plenty of debating left as to who is the second best team in the country. Also, I"m leap-frogging Florida State over Clemson despite FSU having a bye last week. The Seminoles beat the Tigers back in September and thus have the tiebreaker to win the ACC. It's not likely that either team can factor into the national championship mix but crazier things have happened.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Nov. 5, 2012
Two years ago I blogged about a stat that the New England Patriots created that kept track of defensive "playmaking." It's a simple number that tallies sacks, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and interceptions. Of course, the number doesn't tell the whole story. But in light of news today that Clay Matthews will miss a few weeks and with Charles Woodson missing considerable time the Packers will need a number of players to fill the void. Here's how the playmaking numbers look through nine weeks (in order it goes sacks, interceptions, fumbles forced, fumbles recovered):
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Nov. 4, 2012
It was an uneven first half for the Packers and the tone was set on the first possession when they had possession of the ball in Arizona territory but came away empty handed.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Nov. 4, 2012
Arizona heat Both teams are atop the league in sacks and as we've seen earlier this year a consistent pass rush will de-rail the Packers offense. Daryl Washington leads the Cardinals defense with eight sacks from his inside linebacker position. Look for more of Alex Green today to slow down the rush.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Nov. 2, 2012
College football is built on tradition and perhaps there is no higher tradition than Big 10 vs Pac 12 in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. The only problem is that tradition may not be upheld this year and the blame can be placed on the Washington Huskies.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Nov. 1, 2012
Welcome to November, the month where everything comes together. The NBA is here and the Bucks begin the season Friday night against Boston. College basketball gets under way at full throttle. The college football schedule is chock full of rivalry games and the run to the NFL playoffs begins.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 31, 2012
It's a five way race for the national championship as we get ready for November. Not much changed in the top 10 but there are several changes to spots 11-25 as a number of teams suffered setbacks last weekend.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 28, 2012
It's rare when my pre-game three keys plays out but that's what happened in this first half. The Packers gave up two sacks, nearly half of Jacksonville's sack total for the entire season. The second one was most troubling as it led to a Jaguars score at the end of the half.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 28, 2012
Up Front The injury issues at wide receiver may not even matter today if Jacksonville can't generate any pass rush. So far this year the Jaguars have registered only five sacks. This is good news for Aaron Rodgers. Assuming he has time it won't matter who is on the field, he should have his way with the Jacksonville secondary.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 27, 2012
Just five weeks remain in the college football season after today and the squeeze is on. Georgia's 17-9 win over Florida temporarily knocks the Gators out of the BCS race and now the Bulldogs control their own destiny for the SEC East title.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 26, 2012
Another top 25 team is in action tonight with the unbeaten Louisville Cardinals hosting Cincinnati. The Big East has been on the BCS back burner since South Florida climbed as high as number two in the country midway through the 2007 season. But with Louisville and also unbeaten Rutgers stacking up wins the Big East is no longer the laughingstock it was the last few years.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 25, 2012
Week Eight begins tonight with an old NFC Central showdown between the 2-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 5-2 Minnesota Vikings. As we near the halfway point of the season it's fair to say the Vikings have been one of the surprise teams of the 2012 season. But are they for real?
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 24, 2012
No changes to the top nine this week however a number of potential BCS challengers suffered a fatal second loss this past weekend. On tap this weekend are a few key matchups including Mississippi State-Alabama, Florida-Georgia and Notre Dame-Oklahoma.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 21, 2012
Meet the new Aaron Rodgers, same as the old Aaron Rodgers. While #12 may not be able to get back to 2011 form week in and week out he certainly has been impressive these past two weeks. And he has done so with a weak running game and an offensive line that is still a bit spongy. Rodgers has also lit up two of the better secondaries in the NFL.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 21, 2012
With the way the first half looked it feels like the Packers should have a bigger lead than four points. Aaron Rodgers continued his crisp play from the Houston game with 165 yards but the Rams have been able to disrupt the rhythm a bit thanks to three sacks. St. Louis has a couple of guys up front that can get to the quarterback and other than the touchdown drive the Rams have done enough to keep this one from getting away from them.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 21, 2012
St Louis Secondary The Rams overhauled their secondary in the offseason and it has paid off already. The St. Louis pass defense is fifth in the league in yards per game and they've ripped off eight interceptions. Sure Aaron Rodgers had his way with a tough Houston secondary last week but he may not be able to put up the same numbers. Of course the real question is can the Packers start stacking up good performances every week. This matchup provides a challenge.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 18, 2012
I don't think Art Alexakis had football in mind when he once said "dreaming of the west coast" but the focus is out west tonight with a pair of games that will shape not just the tone of the weekend but the rest of the season as well.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 17, 2012
We're at the halfway point of the season and the unbeatens are dropping off like flies. The SEC East gets less cloudy after this weekend's Florida-South Carolina game, LSU-Texas A&M meet in an elimination game and rivalries like Alabama-Tennessee, Florida State-Miami and Minnesota-Wisconsin will begin to fill the landscape for the rest of the year.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 15, 2012
Well, that's why they play the game. It was a classic back-against-the-wall, everyone digs in, character building kind of a game. Winning on the road in the NFL is always tough. Winning on the road against a team that looked like the best in the NFL is about as good as it gets.
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By Jeff Falconio CREATED Oct. 14, 2012
Another solid first half for the Packers. Aaron Rodgers looked like he was much more in synch with his wide receivers against a very good Houston secondary. Once again, keeping Rodgers upright and giving him time to extend plays is so important.
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